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Keizra
Keizra are human fighters that utilize both special weapons and waashula mastery. They are often considered the opposite of Lower Knights in various ways. Their name comes from Ancient, and means "Shadow Mortals." Abilities Keizra have abilities very similar to Shaynokeiz. The training for both is very similar, Keizra training a derivative of that for Shaynokeiz. Keizra training is much more accelerated, however, to compensate for human mortality (Shaynokeiz training takes centuries). Like Shaynokeiz, they are masters of Waashula. They can generate it from their body, often through painful acts, or they can even turn their entire body into Waashula smoke. Unlike Shaynokeiz, however, they must spend most of their time in human form. If they're not unskilled or overly-injured, they must find a new body to inhabit (Shaynokeiz can spend all or most of their time as Waashula smoke if they wish). Training Becoming a Kaizra is painful and dangerous. The first stages include being exposed many times to the Grey and living in a Grey Region. This is extremely stressful on the human body and can cause a person to completely lose sanity. When enough time has been spend in the Grey Region, training commences. This involves focusing on anger, fear, and other passionate emotions. The emotions manifest themselves as a very weak form of waashula. Through the envelopment stage of training, which can last for weeks, the Kaizra are perpetually swallowed in black smoke. They can do little more than kill and gain better skill controlling shadow energy. When they've finally learned to control their emotions, they can end the envelopment stage and return to normal human life. From then on they can practice as they please in strengthening themselves and growing more powerful. Reaching new stages, however, requires more time in the Grey. This can still lead to madness, and grows more dangerous as the Kaizra become more powerful. As the human body begins to contain more and more dark power, it becomes more and more like the body of a Grey Knight. In the end being a Kaizra is nothing more than a battle against one's own inability to control the dark power contained in one's body. The power demands attention and more training from the mortal, which increases the power and only enslaves the human more. Weapons Keizra weapon smiths practice some of the most dangerous metallergy and crafts in the world. They work with implanting gray and red diamonds (stones infused with Waashula) into swords and other weapons. For this to work, conventional steel must be folded with cold bronz (bronz that is infused with Waashula). Many steps in the process of either folding the metals or implanting the stones can lead to disasterious effects if not done with great care. Typical weapons *Longsword: Wide-blade of conventional steel folded with cold bronz, with one or more gray or red diamonds (gray being much more powerful and rare). *Hammer: Large head of blue or red marble (marble infused with Waashula). *Axe: Blade side has similar composition as a sword. It may have blue or red marble "sand" mixed in with the metal. Most weapons that exist during the Emergence Era were made during the 500 years of Keizra rule of the Highway, and are thus all at least two milennia old. Innovative Alchemy Ancient Keizra were masters of forming and working with Cold Materials. These are essentially any materials infused with waashula. Much of this art has been lost, but some still know the techniques. Cold Bronz This is the staple material of Innovative Alchemy. All cold materials and innovative alchemic potions are made using vessels of this material, and for metal weapons to be useful in Waashula arts, they must have sheets of cold bronz folded and hammered in. Some weapons are formed entirely of it, but as with normal bronz they do not hold an edge well. There are various ways to form it, but most involve human sacrifice. Red and Blue Marble Many ancient fortifications of the Keizra rulers built with Red and Blue Marble. They were often commissioned by the Three Corp Army to build them facilities as well. Walls and buildings built with this are extremely resistant to damage from duedamus attacks. Blue marble can sometimes be completely impervious to regular attacks, often behaving as if it is frozen in time (damage may eventually show, but very slowly). Both are formed from taking normal marble and slowly filling its pores with Waashula. It is sometimes ground into a powder and used as part of more complex alchemic concoctions. Red and Gray Diamonds These are made from regular diamonds, and are an attempt to create an analogue for perfect platinum spheres. They are used as vessels and extremely large volumes of waashula are infused into the hard crystals. Often the diamonds will grow in size as more waashula is compressed into them. The only difference between red and gray diamonds is the amount of waashula contained within. Grays often have at least ten times as much as reds. Waashula Waashula is the energy source of all archane arts of Keizra and members of the Three Corps Army. It is used in ways that imitate duedamus, but with several significant differences. It is a word from Ancient that's very difficult to translate. The closest would be "colorless wind," or "feirce, lifeless breath," both referring to a breath or yell coming from a long-dead, rotting corpse. Formation Unless a Keizra is of a high enough level of mastery to immediately turn portions of their own soul/essense directly into waashula, they must inflict pain on themselves or bloodlet in order to form waashula. Turning one's own blood into waashula is the easiest way to form it quickly. The greatest exception to this is with members of the Red Corp. More animalistic in their nature, they can form specific waashula techniques as a part of their very physiology, without effort. Origin Waashula is sometimes referred to as dark power or dark energy, but has nothing to do with any cosmological forces. It is, in essense, the framents of souls. All members of the Three Corps army all have a limited natural ability to work with their own souls, largely because they are all already fragmented. Keizra must cause significant damage to their own souls before they can begin to use it as energy. The more powerful and ruthless Keizra can murder others and use fragements of the victims' souls as energy. Smoke Form Waashula usually forms as a oily, black smoke. Though similar in appearance, it is not the same material as the Great Cloud. Most uses of this form are for distraction and for telekinetic-like push attacks. Fire Form This is actually a liquid form of the smoke. Most techniques deal with sending off small black beads as projectiles, which will explode with a wide-ranging concussive blast. Greater consentrations of liquid Waashula glow with blue or green fire, and can have long-term effects on victims if they come in physical contact with it. Metal Form Waashula can turn into black blades or staffs or other weapons, appearing to be polished obsidian. This is essentially a solidified state of the liquid form. The weapons will hold their shape only as long as the one who formed it focuses on keeping its integrity. Such weapons are not extremely durable, but like ice and still be quite deadly.